The Marsh Lake executive officer who teaches marine radio communications is applauding the addition of a new marine system that was introduced Tuesday.

Don Hutton of the Yukon Power and Sail Squadron said boaters and sailors must remember that channel 16 the international distress channel remains the channel that must be monitored.

Boat captains should be monitoring 16 at all times, because it is the distress channel. And while it can be used to contact other boats, it should never be used for non-emergency chit-chat, but rather boat captains should choose a non-emergency channel to talk about business, Hutton said.

He said boaters in trouble should first use 16 if they're in trouble, to see if there are other craft nearby that can provide immediate assistance.

What the new system provides for, said Hutton, is an option for boaters who find themselves in trouble with no other boats around.

In the works now for 13 years, with a capital investment approaching $90,000, the new system offers boaters in certain regions a 24-7 radio link that can be contacted in case of emergency from May through to October.

'I am very pleased to announce the addition of this valuable emergency communication system,' Tourism and Culture Minister Elaine Taylor told an audience gathered at Tuesday's unveiling, on behalf of Community Services Minister Glenn Hart.

'With more and more boaters on Yukon lakes, this type of system is of particular value to the Yukon.'

If, for instance, a boater on Lake Laberge got into trouble, and there were no boats responding on channel 16, he could call channel 20. That would put him in touch Action Answering Ltd., and a phone call away from the RCMP or other emergency services.

'It is a tremendous step forward,' Hutton said of the new Very High Frequency link. 'And it will evolve over time into whatever it is going to be.'

He said boaters should not be shy about trying the system this summer, to assure others and themselves that it works, and to provide those who watch over the system with a footprint of what areas are readily accessible by VHF and which ones aren't.

To use the new system to notify home about the likelihood of being delayed on the lake because of bad weather is what the system is there for, Hutton said. He cited the benefits of being able to tell your loved ones you'll be a day late and avoid the possibility of a search and rescue effort.

The system has been set up to primarily service Teslin Lake and Johnson's Crossing, Lake Laberge and the Yukon River in the Whitehorse area, Kluane Lake and Dezadeash Lake area and the Southern Lakes and Marsh Lake areas.

Bob Melanson of the Yukon Amatuer Radio Association said there could be areas not identified as being a service area that can take advantage of the system, depending on where the boater is relative to the mountain top repeater servicing the area.

Melanson explained that the new system evolved over time essentially involved installing an additional repeater at the repeater sites where the amateur association already has repeaters.

Hutton said there's nothing wrong with boaters who are out there this coming summer calling into Action Answering to test it and figure out where it works from and where it doesn't.

Of the $90,000 or so spent getting the system together since 1992, $83,000 came in contributions from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Of the $17,000 for annual operating and maintenance costs, Yukon Electrical Co. Ltd. will contribute $5,000, DFO and the Coast Guard, $5,000, the territorial government $5,000 and Yukon Energy, $2,000 as in-kind helicopter costs.